Musidzigwa kwe Tjidumano ku Shekemu
1 Kudwapo Joshuwa kakubunganya njudzi dzose dze Baiziraela ku nzi we Shekemu, kadana bakulu ne batungamili ne basumikilisi ne makombgwa e Baiziraela ngono bakazha mbeli kwe Ndzimu. 2 Ipapo Joshuwa kadwa bathu bose kati, “Etji nditjo tjinolebgwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela, ntolo tjose bobatategulu benyu bo Tera tate ba Abhurahama na Nahori bakabe begala seli kwe gwizi gwe Yufuratesi bakabe bethigamila midzimu. 3 Koga ndakatola batategulu benyu Abhurahama mu shango i seli kwe gwizi abatungamila ndibapalamisa shango yose ye Kanana kakale abapa zwizekugwana zwinjinji. Ndakabapa Isaki, 4 ngono Isaki iye ampa Jakubo na Esau. Ndakapa Esau shango ye matombo ye Seiri ngono Jakubo ne bakololo babe bakayenda ku Egipiti.”
5 “Ngono kudwapo ndakatuma Mushe na Aroni, ndikatumila tjiga ku Egipiti nge tjandakathama pakati kwabo, koga imwi amudusa mu Egipiti. 6 Ndakati ndidusa bobatategulu benyu mu Egipiti bakayenda bakaswika pa gungwa ngono Baegipiti bakabatobela nge koloyi dze ngwa nenge mbizi kudza benoti ku Gungwa Shaba. 7 Koga bobatategulu benyu bakandililila bekumbila bhatsho ngono ndakabiga zhalima pakati kwabo ne Baegipiti. Ngono kwakati Baegipiti beti banotjulukabo, amilidza vula ye gungwa ikabakwididza bakafa makazwibonela nge mesho enyu tjakashingikalila Baegipiti.
“ ‘Makadwapo mu gala mu tjilambanyika kwe tjibaka tjilefu. 8 Ndakamuzhisa mu shango ye Baamori bakabe begala ku bhezhuba kwe gwizi gwe Jorodani. Bakagwa namwi ngono athama kuti mu bakunde. Ndakabalobesa mbeli kwenyu ngono mukatola shango yabo. 9 Ngono Balaka nkololo wa Zipori mambo we Moabu kazwilulwamisila ngwa ne Baiziraela, katuma Bhalamu nkololo wa Bheori kuti alonge bhiso mu muli, 10 andizoteedza Bhalamu, ndizo mu bumo gwe bhiso kamukombolela ngono amusunungula mu mishingo iye. 11 Makati mutjuluka gwizi gwe Jorodani muzha ku Jerikho, bagali be Jerikho ne Baamoni ne Baperizi ne Bakanana ne Bahiti ne Bagirigashi ne Bahivi ne Bajebusi bakagwa namwi ngono athama kuti mubakunde. 12 Amuzokunda nge kwenyu, ndakatumila mago mbeli kwenyu akamutatila bomambo be Baamori babili. 13 Ndakamupa minda dzabo dzamusakashinga tjimwe mudzili ne mizi yabo mikulu yamusakabaka koga mogala muili kakale muja mitjelo ye minda dze zhambi ne dze mitoba dzamusakalima.’ ”
14 “Ndizoke itjani Yahwe mubashingile kakale mu bagalemoyo nge mimoyo yenyu yose. Dusilani kutjena midzimu ya bobatategulu benyu yabakabe bethigamila seli kwe gwizi ne mu Egipiti, munamate Yahwe. 15 Koga amubona kwakabipa kushingila Yahwe muzwishaluligwe muna la nasi kuti moshingila ani, kuti kene moshingila midzimu ya bobatategulu benyu baseli kwe gwizi kene midzimu ye Baamori ibo bamunogala mu shango yabo, koga imi ne be nsha wangu towoshingila Yahwe.”
16 Ngono bathu bakadabila beti, “Ngakube kutjena naswi kuti tingafupatila Yahwe tikathigamila midzimu ipoga! 17 Yahwe Ndzimu wedu ndibo bakatidusa iswi na bobatategulu bedu mu busungwa mu shango ye Egipiti, ndibo zwabo bakathama zwilakidzo zwinotjenamisa mbeli kwedu. Bakatibakilila kudwa tjose tilimu gwendo, bakatibakilila tili pakati kwe zwitjaba zwatakabe tipalama. 18 Yahwe bakatatila kutjena naswi zwitjaba zose ne Baamori bakabe begala mu shango iyeyi tjibaka itjetjo. Naswibo towoshingila Yahwe ngoti ndibo Ndzimu wedu.”
19 Joshuwa kashandula kati, “Amungatubule kushingila Yahwe nge kuti ba Ndzimu wakayengemala, ba Ndzimu una fupa. Abanga muzwiibhatigwe bupanduki kene matjinyo enyu. 20 Ha mufupatila Yahwe mube mushingila midzimu ipoga, banowomushandukila bakamuthamila zwakabipa bakamulobesa, nenguba bakatongo muthamila zwakanaka.” 21 Koga bathu bakadwa Joshuwa bakati, “Aa, towoshingila Yahwe!”
22 Joshuwa kabe eti, “Mmwe ne mmwe wenyu ipapa ntendeki kuti mazwishalulila kushingila Yahwe.”
Ngono bakashandula beti “Ee, ti batendeki.”
23 Joshuwa kabe eti, “Ngono ngwenu lashilani kutjena midzimu yenyu yamunayo ngono mupe Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela mimoyo yenyu.”
24 Ngono bathu bakadwa Joshuwa beti, “Towoshingila Yahwe Ndzimu wedu kakale towobahwa.”
25 Ndizo mu zhuba ilelo Joshuwa kathama Tjidumano ne Baiziraela ku Shekemu, kathama milayo kabapa iyo. 26 Ngono Joshuwa kakwala zwithu zose izwezwi mu Lukwalo gwe Nlayo we Ndzimu. Kudwapo katola bgwe gulu gulu kalibiga kusi kwe nti nkulu we pakayengemala mu bugalo gwakayengemala gwa Yahwe.
27 Kudwapo Joshuwa kabadwa kati, “Bonani bgwe ileli, ntendeki wedu, lahwa matama wose atabudziwa ndi Yahwe. Lowobe ntendeki ha musina malebeswa ku Ndzimu wenyu.”
28 Ndizo Joshuwa kapaladza bathu bakayenda ku magalo abo.
Joshuwa na Eleazari banofa
29 Shule kwe zwithu izwezwi zose Joshuwa nkololo wa Nuni, nlanda wa Yahwe kafa abe ne makole ali zana ling'ompela lina ali gumi (110). 30 Baiziraela bakambiganya mu shango ye Timinatisera ili shango ye matombo ye Ifureimi ku bunandzwa gwe Dombo le Gaashi, shango yakabe ili thaka iye.
31 Baiziraela bakashingila Yahwe, tjibaka tjose tja Joshuwa atjatjila ne tjibaka tje bakulu bose baakasiya be tjila bakabe beziba mishingo yakashingigwa Baiziraela ndi Yahwe.
32 Mafupa a Josefa akabe atogwa ne Baiziraela ku Egipiti, kabiganyiwa ku Shekemu, pa ntuthu wakabe watengwa ndi Jakubo mu bana ba Hamori tate ba Shekemu nge themba inobhata dzi siliva dzili zana (100). Ngono ipapa kukabe thaka ye bana ba Josefa.
33 Ngono Eleazari nkololo wa Aroni kafa ngono kabiganyiwa ku nzi we Gibiya wakabe wapiwa nkololo uwe Finihasi mu shango ye matombo ye Ifureimi.
We Will Worship and Obey the Lord
1 Joshua called the tribes of Israel together for a meeting at Shechem. He asked the leaders, including the old men, the judges, and the officials, to come up and stand near the sacred tent. 2 Then Joshua told everyone to listen to this message from the Lord, the God of Israel:
Long ago your ancestors lived on the other side of the Euphrates River, and they worshiped other gods. This continued until the time of your ancestor Terah and his two sons, Abraham and Nahor. 3 But I brought Abraham across the Euphrates River and led him through the land of Canaan. I blessed him by giving him Isaac, the first in a line of many descendants. 4 Then I gave Isaac two sons, Jacob and Esau. I gave Esau the hill country of Mount Seir, but your ancestor Jacob and his children went to live in Egypt.
5-6 Later I sent Moses and his brother Aaron to help your people, and I made all those horrible things happen to the Egyptians. I brought your ancestors out of Egypt, but the Egyptians got in their chariots and on their horses and chased your ancestors, catching up with them at the Red Sea. 7 Your people cried to me for help, so I put a dark cloud between them and the Egyptians. Then I opened up the sea and let your people walk across on dry ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, I commanded the sea to swallow them, and they drowned while you watched.
You lived in the desert for a long time, 8 then I brought you into the land east of the Jordan River. The Amorites were living there, and they fought you. But with my help, you defeated them, wiped them out, and took their land. 9 King Balak decided that his nation Moab would go to war against you, so he asked Balaam to come and put a curse on you. 10 But I wouldn't listen to Balaam, and I rescued you by making him bless you instead of curse you.
11 You crossed the Jordan River and came to Jericho. The rulers of Jericho fought you, and so did the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. I helped you defeat them all. 12 Your enemies ran from you, but not because you had swords and bows and arrows. I made your enemies panic and run away, as I had done with the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River.
13 You didn't have to work for this land—I gave it to you. Now you live in towns you didn't build, and you eat grapes and olives from vineyards and trees you didn't plant.
14 Then Joshua told the people:
Worship the Lord, obey him, and always be faithful. Get rid of the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt. 15 But if you don't want to worship the Lord, then choose here and now! Will you worship the same idols your ancestors did? Or since you're living on land that once belonged to the Amorites, maybe you'll worship their gods. I won't. My family and I are going to worship and obey the Lord!
16 The people answered:
We could never worship other gods or stop worshiping the Lord. 17 The Lord is our God. We were slaves in Egypt as our ancestors had been, but we saw the Lord work miracles to set our people free and to bring us out of Egypt. Even though other nations were all around us, the Lord protected us wherever we went. 18 And when we fought the Amorites and the other nations that lived in this land, the Lord made them run away. Yes, we will worship and obey the Lord, because the Lord is our God.
19 Joshua said:
The Lord is fearsome; he is the one true God, and I don't think you are able to worship and obey him in the ways he demands. You would have to be completely faithful, and if you sin or rebel, he won't let you get away with it. 20 If you turn your backs on the Lord and worship the gods of other nations, the Lord will turn against you. He will make terrible things happen to you and wipe you out, even though he had been good to you before.
21 But the people shouted, “We won't worship any other gods. We will worship and obey only the Lord!”
22 Joshua said, “You have heard yourselves say that you will worship and obey the Lord. Isn't that true?”
“Yes, it's true,” they answered.
23 Joshua said, “But you still have some idols, like those the other nations worship. Get rid of your idols! You must decide once and for all that you really want to obey the Lord God of Israel.”
24 The people said, “The Lord is our God, and we will worship and obey only him.”
25 Joshua helped Israel make an agreement with the Lord that day at Shechem. Joshua made laws for Israel 26 and wrote them down in The Book of the Law of God. Then he set up a large stone under the oak tree at the place of worship in Shechem 27 and told the people, “Look at this stone. It has heard everything that the Lord has said to us. Our God can call this stone as a witness if we ever reject him.”
28 Joshua sent everyone back to their homes.
Joshua, Joseph, and Eleazar Are Buried
29 Not long afterwards, the Lord's servant Joshua died at the age of 110. 30 The Israelites buried him in his own land at Timnath-Serah, north of Mount Gaash in the hill country of Ephraim.
31 As long as Joshua lived, Israel worshiped and obeyed the Lord. There were other leaders old enough to remember everything that the Lord had done for Israel. And for as long as these men lived, Israel continued to worship and obey the Lord.
32 When the people of Israel left Egypt, they brought the bones of Joseph along with them. They took the bones to the town of Shechem and buried them in the field that Jacob had bought for 100 pieces of silver from Hamor, the founder of Shechem. The town and the field both became part of the land belonging to the descendants of Joseph.
33 When Eleazar the priest died, he was buried in the hill country of Ephraim on a hill that belonged to his son Phinehas.